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sententious

[sen-ten-shuhs]
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adjective

abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims: a sententious book.
given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
given to or using pithy sayings or maxims: a sententious poet.
of the nature of a maxim; pithy.

RELATED WORDS

concise, pithy, pointed, aphoristic, bombastic, fustian, oratorical, ornate, pretentious, self-righteous, showy, turgid, abounding, brief, epigrammatic, laconic, meaningful, pompous, short, terse

Nearby words

  1. sentential,
  2. sentential calculus,
  3. sentential connective,
  4. sentential function,
  5. sententially,
  6. sententiously,
  7. senti,
  8. sentience,
  9. sentient,
  10. sentiently

Origin of sententious

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin sententiōsus meaningful. See sentence, -ous
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sententious

British Dictionary definitions for sententious

sententious

adjective

characterized by or full of aphorisms, terse pithy sayings, or axioms
constantly using aphorisms, etc
tending to indulge in pompous moralizing
Derived Formssententiously, adverbsententiousness, noun

Word Origin for sententious

C15: from Latin sententiōsus full of meaning, from sententia; see sentence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sententious

sententious

adj.

mid-15c., "full of meaning," from Middle French sententieux, from Latin sententiosus "full of meaning, pithy," from sententia "thought; expression of a thought" (see sentence (n.)). Meaning "addicted to pompous moralizing" first recorded 1590s. Related: Sententiously; sententiousness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper